Fleet Management

Trucks Back On Kentucky's I-75

After more than two years, trucks are again allowed on I-75 through Covington, KY, into Cincinnati.

During construction the last two years, truckers have had to use the I-275 loop unless they had business within the city.Trucks have been kept off this stretch of road for years, according to the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Assn., which has pushed to open the road to trucks. In 1986, the governor banned trucks from the stretch of road through Covington known as "Death Hill." The ban was in response to a fatality involving two tractor-trailers. It was supposed to be in effect until the slope of the road was realigned. But even after it was fixed, the state refused to lift the ban. It wasn't until 1995 that the road was opened to trucks, after pressure from OOIDA.For the past two years, the road has been closed to trucks as the state worked on improving the "S" curve on a stretch of I-75 passing through Kenton County, KY, near Cincinnati. This curve was the site of dozens of truck accidents. During construction, commercial vehicles and RVs were restricted from I-75 and I-71.Meanwhile, north in Hamilton, OH, a 10.7-mile highway connecting the two to I-75 opened yesterday. The $158 million highway was known during construction as the Butler County Regional Highway. It was recently renamed for Michael A. Fox, a former state lawmaker who supported its construction. The project was proposed in the 1960s, and originally was envisioned as a toll road.